CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTEBOOK : Williams Takes His Game Elsewhere

One of the longest-running rumors around the Cal State Fullerton athletic department, next to football Coach Gene Murphy leaving for (fill-in-the-school-here), has been that Titan basketball player Wayne Williams would be transferring to another school.

Williams, a two-year starter at point guard, finally turned rumor into reality this week when he announced that he won’t return to Fullerton for his junior season.

Williams says has no idea where he’s going. He hasn’t asked Coach John Sneed for his official release, so no other school has been allowed to contact him.

But Williams knows where he won’t be next winter--in a Titan uniform.

“Basically, I didn’t agree with the style of basketball they’re playing,” said Williams, who averaged 9.8 points a game last season and 8.3 as a freshman. “I feel it will be better for me to go to another school where I can show my abilities better.”

Although Sneed likes the running game, Williams said he wants to run more. Although Fullerton usually plays a match-up zone defense, which has man-to-man principles, Williams said he wants to play more man-to-man.

“I like a fast-paced team that will play man-to-man, full-court defense,” said Williams, who is 6 feet 1, 175 pounds. “I could show my defense, make passes, run, and still score.”

Williams is considered an average outside shooter--he made just 34.4% of his field goal attempts last season--and he is not a flashy ball-handler or passer. But he did have 359 assists in two seasons and developed a reputation as a clutch player.

In his first college game, Williams made two free throws with seven seconds left to clinch a 59-57 victory over Utah. Later that season, his three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Titans a 93-92 victory over Nevada Las Vegas.

But Williams never seemed happy at Fullerton.

Even before he played his first game at Fullerton, there were rumors that he would transfer. George McQuarn, who recruited Williams from Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, resigned before the 1988-89 season, and Williams wasn’t comfortable with the coaching situation.

The Titans’ surprisingly successful 16-13 season gave Williams a reason to return for his sophomore year, but a 13-16 record this past season caused those transfer rumors to resurface. “I don’t know what happened, we just fell apart,” Williams said. “I’m not going to blame myself, (my) teammates or the coach. We just fell apart.”

Sneed has grown accustomed to Williams’ grumblings, but preferred not to dwell on the past.

“He has always been rumored to be leaving,” Sneed said. “But I’m not going to say anything bad about Wayne, that’s how I treat my kids. I hate to see him go and I wish him the best of luck elsewhere.”

Sneed said there hasn’t been much interest in Williams.

“No other coach has contacted me,” Sneed said. “I haven’t had one phone call.”

Still, Williams has grand visions.

“I don’t regret going here--I feel I made a name for myself, and I enjoyed playing with guys like Cedric Ceballos and Mark Hill,” Williams said. “But I want to go to a big school, a school with greater standards than Fullerton.”

It’s so satisfying: Titan catcher Matt Hattabaugh received an unexpected treat during Saturday’s baseball game against Cal State Long Beach.

When Hattabaugh came out to catch in the bottom of the first inning, a Snickers candy bar was waiting for him at the plate. Long Beach catcher Perry Sanchez left it there as a prank, but not to make fun of Hattabaugh’s stocky stature (6 feet 1, 205 pounds).

Turns out Snickers was the nickname Hattabaugh gave Sanchez, the 5-10, 155-pound catcher, when they played together at Cerritos College.

“Have you seen him? He looks like a Snickers bar,” Hattabaugh said.

When Hattabaugh saw the candy bar, he laughed and threw it back into the Long Beach dugout. But he didn’t attempt to retaliate during Sunday’s game.

“He’s my buddy,” Hattabaugh said.

Two-minute drill: For those wanting a sneak peek at the 1990 Fullerton football team, the Titans will culminate spring practice with a scrimmage at 5:30 p.m. Saturday on the school’s soccer field, which is located between the softball field and track.

But get there early. It won’t last long. Coach Gene Murphy, who has only 42 healthy players, said the Titans will run about 40 plays from scrimmage, with a full offense and defense, and 40 skeleton plays, in which no interior linemen are used.

“We’re not looking to kill anybody,” Murphy said.

Having lost 23 seniors from last season’s team, Murphy began spring practice with just 46 players, about 20 to 25 fewer than normal.

Murphy lost four players when safeties Bobby Baez (wrist) and Mike Jones (knee) and wide receiver J.J. Celestine (shoulder) went down with injuries and when defensive end Clarence Siler was shot during a brawl outside a Fullerton nightclub.

Titan Notes

The Big West Conference-leading Fullerton baseball team will play host to UC Santa Barbara in another key conference series this weekend. The Titans (9-3) and Gauchos (10-5) will play at 7 p.m. Friday and at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Titan Field. Santa Barbara, which has won nine consecutive conference games, is tied for second with Fresno State, which plays Cal State Long Beach this weekend. . . . Fullerton third baseman Phil Nevin, who leads the conference in home runs with 13, suffered a bruised bone in his heel last weekend and may sit out today’s game against United States International. However, Titan Coach Larry Cochell said Nevin should be fine for the Santa Barbara series. . . . Titan left fielder Rich Gonzales, who went nine for 12 in last weekend’s series against Cal State Long Beach, has been named Big West Conference tri-player of the week. The performance lifted Gonzales’ team-leading batting average to .407. He is hitting .488 (21 for 43) in conference play with 10 runs and 11 RBIs. . . . Jill Matyuch, starting shortstop for Fullerton’s softball team, is on the District VIII ballot of the GTE Academic All-American women’s softball team.